Rise of Oracle
by RubberDuckyYou'reTheOne
Summary: Batgirl and Robin are the new dynamic duo of Gotham, after Nightwing left. But even they can't handle the city of darkness on their own. Fighting crime has consequences. "I… I can't feel my legs." Major Batfamily.
1. Chapter 1

Robin stalked towards the Zeta-Platform in the Batcave, eyes burning with fury behind his mask. Nightwing hadn't shown up in Gotham for over a month now, and it was time someone slapped him upside the head.

Stepping out of the dimming lights of the Zeta-Platform in the cave, he saw that Nightwing was facing his team; it looked like they were about to go on a mission. Nightwing halted mid-sentence and looked over at his little brother.

"Robin? What are you doing here?" Nightwing was slightly apprehensive. Damien wasn't supposed to be here, and with Tim going on this mission the situation was even worse. It didn't help that the kid looked like he was ready to eviscerate someone.

"Tt. If you don't know by now, you are more hopeless than previously expected. Why have you not shown up for patrol?"

Nightwing looked confused. "I've been running the team, like I was supposed to." Speaking of the team, they looked at Robin with more than a little curiosity. There hadn't been a Robin on the team since Tim changed his name to Red Robin. This Robin had a very similar design to the old costume, except for the ominous black hood that covered his face, adding another layer of shadows to his already indiscernible features.

Robin was about to protest in earnest when his communicator beeped. "What? I'm busy!"

"Robin! Thank God, I've been trying you for an hour. I need your help, now! Joker got out again, and I—" The sound of Batgirl's voice cut off and a sound like her being punched trickled through.

Robin's eyes widened. "Batgirl! Batgirl, answer me! What is going on?"

Batgirl's voice crackled on the comm link, static polluting the signal. "Robin, are you still there? I can't hear—clapped his hands over—eardrums—hurt! Can't hold—" An explosion sounded through the communicator loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"Hurry!" She shouted. Then the comm beeped out.

Robin stood stock still for a moment, then raced to the Zetas. Nightwing hurried after him. "Robin, wait! What's wrong? Was that Babs?"

"Like you care, Grayson! Stay with your precious team."

The team stared after Robin as he left, unsure what their leader was going to do. His conflicting emotions were evident on his face, so Red Robin stepped up. "Nightwing, this mission takes priority. I'm sure that they can handle it."

Nightwing slowly nodded, then turned his back on the fading lights of the Zeta-tube.

Robin swung across the skyline of Gotham, racing towards Batgirl's last recorded location. He was annoyed that it had taken him almost twenty minutes to get here; the feeling that he was too late was overwhelming.

As he arrived at the building, he noticed the veritable army of police officers outside, one of them being Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl's father. Landing beside the seasoned cop and ally of the Bats, Robin looked at him expectantly. Gordon got the message immediately.

"The Joker's been in there with his goons for almost two hours. Twenty hostages. Batgirl went in an hour and a half ago, and we haven't heard anything since." Robin paled. That would have been difficult even for Batman; Barbra couldn't have fared much better.

Racing into the building, he saw that this must have been where she entered. There were almost twenty unconscious and armed joker lackeys laying in the lobby.

He pried open the elevator doors and grappled up through the shaft, listening to where the sounds of fighting were strongest. Robin kicked out the door for the eleventh floor and rolled right into the middle of an intense fire fight.

The Joker and his goons were lined along one side of the room, firing continuously at the opposite end; their numbers were in the forties by his estimate.

The other side of the room consisted of Batgirl, firing batarang after batarang into the goons, taking down almost three per throw. The twenty hostages were cowering around the corner, out of range and sight of the Joker. Robin quickly rushed to his partner's side, adding exploding bird-a-rangs to the mix.

Batgirl's costume was sliced open all over; at this point there was more uncovered skin than covered. Blood poured out of a wound on her head, and her sides were heaving with the pain of what looked like multiple broken ribs and exhaustion from having fought like this for over an hour. The most concerning, though, was the fact that the ends of her tattered cape were on fire. Those things were supposed to be fire-proof; if they were going up in smoke, things had gone about forty degrees past south a long time ago.

Batgirl looked at Robin from the corner of her eye. As she flung another Batarang into the fray, she huffed out an order. "Robin! Get the hostages out, now!"

Robin threw an explosive at the Joker, who dodged, letting one of his goons take the hit. "I will not leave you!"

She groaned. "Not really the time to argue, I—" Batgirl cursed as her hand reached into an empty compartment. "Damn, I'm out." Pausing in her fight, she looked at Robin, seemingly stripping away every barrier he had with one look from her haunting blue eyes. "Damien. Get them out."

He slowly nodded, making his way to the hostages. As he moved away, Batgirl let out a cackle. "All right boys! You wanna play with fire?" Then she ran towards them, throwing every explosive device from her utility belt. When those ran out, she dealt out punches and kicks.

Robin and the rest of the people paused for a moment, caught up in the grace of her movements. Even exhausted, and beaten past the point where any other human being would have given out, she flew threw the air with a grace that even Nightwing, for all his acrobatics, could not hope to match. Now Damien understood what his older brother had meant when he said that Batgirl was more lethal than he could ever hope to be.

Shaking off those thoughts, he motioned to the people before him. "There's a fire escape out that window. Move!"

The scampered over each other and clambered out the window, Robin hanging on the sides to make sure none of them fell. The sounds of explosions and punches faded into police sirens and the occasional gunshot from above.

Robin delivered the people into the hands of the paramedics, then stepped foreword to go back and help. But before he could, a strange silence fell over the scene.

Everyone looked up at the window they had climbed put of, frozen in the frightening quiet. Then a single gunshot rang out, echoing across Gotham. People turned heads and looked up as the noise, so very common to their streets, seemed to scream for attention.

Robin waited with baited breath as the silence continued. Then a different sound jarred the silence, causing every man, woman, and child to go white with fear. All of Gotham fell silent as the Crown Prince of Crime laughed.

And laughed. And laughed.

Robin cried out in terror. "NO!" His grappling hook shot out and the police stormed the building.

The scene before him was one born of the nightmare of every Bat.  
Batgirl lay on the ground, bleeding out of the wound in her stomach that she was desperately clutching. The Joker stood not three feet away, gun still raised and smoking.

Robin's vision turned red, but before he could move, the Joker smiled at him. "So long, little birdy! Uncle J's gotta run!" Cackling, he slipped out a door in back, leaving almost thirty goons to cover his trail.

He slowly turned to look at them, his eyes speaking not of the Batman's one rule, but of the training he received for the first ten years of his life. The Batman would chase them off, lock them up, hold Robin back.  
But the Batman wasn't here right now.

Screaming in rage, he leapt at them, striking at the bases of their spines and necks, throwing bird-a-rangs towards their eye sockets. In his state, they all missed, but there was no doubt that they would be hospitalized for the next few months, and scarred for the rest of their lives.

As the last of them fell, he turned back to Batgirl and dropped to her side. Tearing off his cape, he pressed it against her stomach, then raised a hand to his ear. "Nightwing, Nightwing come in!"

"Not now, Robin! I'm in the middle of a mission! Maintain radio silence!"

Robin screamed in frustration. Why did Grayson insist on staying with that team? Gotham needed its heroes, and every time one of them was away, the crime rate skyrocketed.

Robin growled and signed off, focusing on Batgirl's wound. Just as he tied it off around her, the police slammed through the door, Gordon leading the charge.

The commissioner stopped short at the sight of Batgirl lying on the ground and Robin leaning over her, doing chest compressions. The young boy looked over at him, and for the first time in his long, long career in Gotham, he saw fear in the eyes of a Bat.

Robin looked up at him for a moment, then turned back to his partner. Just a he was about to do mouth to mouth, she gasped and her eyes fluttered open.

Everything was blurry, and the pain in her stomach was almost unbearable, but she pressed her hands to her wound and looked over at the boy beside her who was still so young; too young to have seen the things that he had.

Said boy slumped with relief, then pressed a hand to his ear again. "Watchtower, I demand immediate transport!"

Mal Duncan's voice trickled back through the comm. "Who is this? How the heck did you get this line?"

Batgirl tilted her head, looking up at Robin. "Activate my comm link."

Robin growled and pressed a hand to her ear for her. She coughed for a moment, the blood trickling out of her lips causing Robin and the Commissioner to freeze in terror.

"Mal…request immediate… transport… to watchtower. Call… Leslie."

Mal didn't answer, and Batgirl slumped in resignation. She wasn't going to make it. But she couldn't let Robin think that; it would crush him. Putting on a brave smile, she looked at him.

"It's going to be… alright, Robin. I'm… fine." Her torso seized with a violent coughing fit, blood spraying everywhere. Batgirl's eyes remained closed this time.

Commissioner Gordon crouched down beside Robin, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

Robin's mouth crumbled, tears streaming down his face. Choking back a sob, he gently put his arms around her, laying his head on her chest. The men and women behind them took their hats off, laying them over their hearts in mourning. The loss of a Bat was not something you could ever shrug off, or ever forget. Everyone remembered the night that the second Robin had been murdered by the Joker; Gotham had shrunk in terror of the Batman for weeks.

Batgirl's mouth turned upwards ever so slightly. "Aww… didn't know… you cared so much, demon."

Robin jolted up and grinned through his terror. "Oh, please, peasant, do not fool yourself. I simply mourn the amount of work you had left me with. The Joker is not going to arrest himself."

Batgirl opened her eyes and, with great effort, shrugged her shoulders. "You never know. That maniac may just decide… that he's had enough… and take up ballet."

Robin choked on another sob. He knew what she was doing, and the worst part was that it was working.

Just as he was about to speak again, a strange light appeared around himself and Batgirl. Yes! The ignorant fool in the watchtower had listened. There was still a chance to save her. The destroyed office building disappeared and gave way to the main hanger of the Watchtower.

Robin yelled out when they finished materializing. "Guardian! Martian! Someone, come help me!"

Three figures came running into the room, then stopped cold at the sight before them; Robin crying, Batgirl bleeding out on the floor…

And Jim Gordon crouching next to them, a look of sadness and awe dawning on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

After being shocked at the sight of the Commissioner, Superman was the first to recover. "Robin, what's going—"

Robin interrupted him. "If you have not figured it out, Boy Scout, you really are as stupid as Batman says! Take her to the infirmary, NOW!"

In a flash of blue and red, he and the broken bat were gone. Robin jumped to his feet and raced out of the room, leaving the Flash, Mal, and the Commissioner in the dust.

Flash raced to catch up with him, and Mal and Gordon weren't far behind. They screeched to a halt in the mission room, where Robin had pulled up a communication screen on the big computer. A elderly woman with gray hair pulled into a bun and a lab coat was talking with him, eyes widening as she heard what had happened.

All four men watched in horror and silence as Dr. Leslie patched Batgirl up as best she could, Robin sitting dejectedly in a chair beside her hospital bed. It had been three hours since they had arrived here, and they were all still in panic mode. Batman was off world, and Nightwing and Red Robin were still maintaining radio silence, so there was no one else to call. Robin had been talking with two people earlier; Agent A and someone they didn't recognize. Agent A wasn't able to come to the watchtower, but Robin had left the room before they could hear the other person's reply.

Gordon was still there, watching. Superman had wanted him to leave earlier, but the look on Robin's face when he had brought it up made Superman drop the issue. The commissioner was standing next to Robin, with his hand on the boy's shoulder. He had contacted Detective Bullock and told him what was going on; strangely, he still had service here.

Dr. Leslie stopped and pulled off her gloves, talking with Robin for a moment, then walked over to Superman, Flash, and Mal.

Her face was grave, and she had little specks of blood all over her clothing. "I've done everything I can for her. At this point it's more of a waiting game than anything."

Superman nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Leslie. Can you stay, or do you need to go back to Gotham?"

The Dr. hesitated. "I shouldn't leave at this critical stage, but unfortunately, I have other patients that require my attention. If anything happens, have Robin teleport me up."

Mal started, speaking up for the first time in a while. "What do you mean, teleport?"

Superman looked slightly uncomfortable. "Ahh… it was a project Batman and J'ohn were working on. For emergencies."

Mal looked like he wanted to argue over it, but then he caught sight of Robin and Batgirl in the corner again and his shoulders slumped. "Right. We'll get you back up here if we need you again, Dr. Leslie. Thank you."

She nodded, then went back over to the bed, the three men following behind her. Leslie slowly leaned over and put a hand on Batgirl's cheek, a maternal look coming over her face. "I watched them grow up, you know. All of them. Seeing them like this… it makes me wonder what he was thinking, all those years ago. For all of his sense of right and wrong, he never quite understood what the rest of us had against bringing a child into this, let alone seven."

And with that, she left, leaving three of the people there hopelessly confused.  
Flash cleared his throat. "Umm, what did she mean by seven?"

Robin didn't answer, but Commissioner Gordon looked over at them. "Batman has had seven children helping him over the years, as near as I can tell. Four Robins, Batgirl, Spoiler, and Black Bat. Not to mention all the other people who help him."

Everyone but Robin looked shocked at this. "How could Batman have kept this from us?" Asked Superman.

Robin spoke without looking. "Tt. You think he tells you everything? We can barely get him to talk to us on a good day. Why do you think all of us are so … "Snoopy" as you put it; if we ever want to know anything about what's going on in Gotham, we have to be."

They all fell into silence again, the only sounds the beeping of Batgirl's medical equipment.

Almost two hours later, Superman, Flash, and Mal were on there way back to Batgirl's room from the mess hall, bringing coffee with them, when they heard the Zeta beams go off.

"Recognized. Red Hood B012; Batwoman 43."

Giving each other confused looks, they all went over to the Zeta platform to a wanted criminal and someone they had never seen before.

Superman flew over and his eyes started glowing. "What are you doing here?"

Red Hood stared at him. "Why do you think, boy scout? We're here for Batgirl."

Flash scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Red Hood's eyes narrowed. "I don't know where you get off, thinking you know a damn thing about me, or my family, but you won't keep me out of that room." Then he pulled out one of the many weapons he had on his person and pointed it at them. Before he could fire, the woman dressed like Batman stepped between them. "Enough. This isn't helping. If you really don't believe us," Batwoman said, "Then go ask Robin. I'm sure it won't take long."

Flash shared a look with Superman, then raced off int he direction of the infirmary. When he came back, he nodded. "Robin says it's fine."

Superman grumbled under his breath, but let them pass. He and Mal led them to the med bay as Flash sped ahead. The halls were silents, the only noises heard their footsteps.

When they reached Batgirl's room, Batwoman placed her hands on Superman and Mal to stop them.

"Hey!" Mal yelled, glaring at her.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "This isn't your show, Guardian. This is his family, not yours."

Mal snorted. "And what are you to her, hmm?

Superman signaled for him to stand down, leaving the three heroes to stand and watch the two bats walk into the room. As Batwoman went in, she darkened the windows, making it impossible for them to look inside. Commissioner Gordon came out as those two went in, running a hand through his hair. It had already been a long night, and it wasn't over yet.  
—

Red Hood hesitantly stepped towards the bed. He'd never seen Batgirl so vulnerable before. Always with a smirk on her face, a quick retort on her lips. But now, she just laid there, broken.

Robin looked up as he approached. "Tt. Finally made it to family night, Todd?"

Red Hood smiled faintly at his sharp words, taking off his helmet as he pulled up a chair next to the bed. Batwoman stayed leaning against the doorframe, silently watching them.

"Well, I never miss a chance to show up Grayson. Where the hell is golden boy, anyway?"

Robin's fists clenched. "Off on a mission." he sneered. "He didn't want to leave his precious team, and he might not even make it back before—"

Jason and Damien froze, realizing what his next words would have been. They both leaned foreword, watching Batgirl's heart monitor beep for reassurance that she was still there, still breathing.

They sat in silence for a while, not wanting to voice what they were really thinking, but too uncertain to reassure each other. Jason thought back to when he had been lying there, a bit like this. Only, he had never had anyone there to save him. He had lied there, broken, on the ground, with the certainty that Batman would come. Batman would save him. But Batman never made it there. His eyes narrowed at the thought, and the hatred that came with it.

Damien saw Jason shift out of the corner of his eyes, and could guess what he was thinking about. After all, it's what he was thinking, too. He had almost died several times, and it hadn't been a hero who saved him; his mother had swooped in at the last moment, taking him to one of her remote labs to give him a new spine, a new heart. He supposed sticking him in a giant incubation tube was her way of showing she cared.

Kate Kane had never been one for emotions. She had served in the army long enough to know how to not lose it in situations like these. Serving as one of Batman's soldiers hadn't really been any different, except that here, the soldiers didn't die. The civilians did.

Of course she had heard about what happened to the second Robin. No one who was in the hero gig legitimately hadn't. But that was the only exception. The bats had been through hell and back, twice, but they always came back kicking.

That's why she was so afraid right now. She had seen death, stared it right in the face, and she knew what loss felt like. And right now, Batgirl reeked of it.

All three were startled from their thoughts when Batgirl stirred on the bed. Moaning softly, she opened her eyes to see Robin sitting by the bed. And …

"Jay-bird?" She spoke incredulously.

Jason grinned in relief. She was okay. Everything was going to be okay. "Hey Barbie. Did ya miss me?"

Barbra groaned for an entirely different reason this time. "Jay, I told you not to call me that."

He smirked. "Can't help it. You look just like one of those dolls; the hospital edition."

Glancing down, Barbra winced. "Yeah, next time we come up on the Joker, I may just help you kill him."

Jason's face tightened. "Joker did this." It wasn't a question.

Barbra nodded, then winced slightly. "Yeah. But don't let it get to you, Jason. I'm fine, see? All my fingers and…"

Her face paled. She sat up, making the machines around her beep wildly, but she didn't notice. Her gaze was pinned on her legs. She seemed to be concentrating for a second, then whimpered.

"No. No no no no no, please!" A wild, panicked look came over her face and her eyes glistened. "Oh, god, no…"

Damien stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder, the other two also coming foreword. "What is it? What's wrong."

Barbra sobbed, placing a hand over her mouth as tears streamed down her face. "I… I can't feel my legs."


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone froze, then panicked.

"Call Leslie, now!" Roared Red Hood, throwing open the door. Everyone out there looked startled at his sudden appearance.  
Robin walked quickly out of the room with Red Hood's helmet, silently handed it to him, then went to stand by his brother.

Flash put a hand on Robin's shoulder, but he shrugged it off. "What is going on?"

Red Hood narrowed his eyes. "There's no time for that! Go get Leslie back here, or so help me I'll…"

Flash gave him a look that told him to stop pushing it, but sped off to the main computer anyway, leaving a bewildered and slightly afraid Superman and Commissioner behind to deal with panicked bat-kids.

Red Hood zeroed in on Gordon, as if he hadn't noticed him before. "What's the commish doing here?"

Superman grimaced. "The experimental teleport system Batman installed accidentally brought him here too."

He growled. "Then send him back. Now. Batman will be here soon, and he won't take kindly to you risking our identities, even if it is the only guy who'd never tell."

Superman glared at him. "What makes you think you can order us around? Heck, I should have arrested you the minute you came up here."

"Batman vouched for me, remember? And besides, if you don't want to listen, I can always grab the kryptonite Robin is bound to have in his belt."

Gordon looked distinctly uncomfortable being stuck in the middle of this. "Look, I have to get back to Gotham anyway. I have work in the morning- or well," He said, glancing at his watch, "Later today. I realize that might not mean much when Batgirl is lying there, but I know how Batman feels about people knowing his little toy soldiers have been hurt. If I don't show up later, everyone will know somethings wrong."

Mal nodded pointedly. "Guys, I don't think it really matters what Red Hood has or hasn't done. Now, what is going on in there?"

Superman looked guilty for forgetting for a few moments, and Red Hood and Robin glanced back into the room. Batwoman was at Batgirl's side, rubbing circles on her back.

Robin and Red Hood went after the Flash, wanting to make sure that the speedster didn't delay because he thought they weren't serious. As they left, Superman led Commissioner Gordon to the Zeta-Platform. Just as they arrived, however, the Zeta-Platform lit up.

"Recognized: Agent A."

Superman's eyes widened as he realized who was about to come through. He knew there was no way that Commissioner Gordon wouldn't recognize Alfred Pennyworth. Panicking, he did the first thing that came to mind. Grabbing the man next to him, he flew him to the opposite side of the Watchtower so fast the Flash would be envious.

Superman flew back to the zeta-tubes and saw the Bat-butler standing there; he would have seemed as composed as ever if it weren't for the fact that his hands were shaking.

"Where is Miss Gordon?"

Superman jerked his thumb behind him. "She's in the med-bay; I think she just woke up. Do you know the way there?" Thinking back to the other Gordon hidden away elsewhere, he cringed internally, hoping that he would't have to help him there and leave the Commissioner there for much longer.

Alfred nodded. "Yes, of course Master Kent. I will go there straightaway." True to his word, he took off at a pace barely below a jog, wanting to get there as quickly as possible.

Superman waited till the butler had turned the corner, then rushed back to where he had left Gordon. The man was fuming, almost, and had a look of quiet indignation on his face. Superman opened his mouth to explain, but the Commissioner held up a hand. "I don't want to know; I've had just about enough of dodging secret identities for one night. Just let me go. Now."

Superman paused, then nodded. Turning, he led Gordon back through the Watchtower and to the zeta-platforms. As Superman entered the coordinates, the Commissioner stopped, placing his hand on the edge of the zeta.

"Tell me if anything… happens to her. I know he won't. She'll just stop showing up one night, and we'll be left guessing. I don't want that to happen again."

Superman hesitated for a moment, knowing that Batman wouldn't be happy, but he agreed anyway.

Gordon looked around one last time, muttering something under his breath as he went. It was so quiet that Superman only caught the tail-end of it.

"…Gods among us."

Superman stared after him for a long time, pondering what he had meant.

—

Barbara had stopped panicking after a few minutes, settling back with dread pooling in her stomach. She knew what it meant for her career as Batgirl.

Batwoman was still standing next to her. They had never really interacted before; Batwoman wasn't as connected to Bruce as the rest of them. Yet he still let her take up the symbol that the rest of them had, which meant that there really was something special about her. Of course she had heard the stories; this woman was almost impossible to put down in a fight, and was almost as adaptable as Nightwing. Barbara had never seen her in action, though. Until she did, they were just stories.

Batwoman hesitated for a moment. She didn't really feel comfortable with Batgirl; they had never even been in a room aline together before. Kate did know, however, that the first step to familiarity is trust. So, she took a deep breath, and removed her cowl.  
Barbara stared dully at her for a moment, not sure what Batwoman was doing. But then the woman held out her hand.

"My name's Kate Kane. It's nice to meet you."

Batgirl slowly shook Kate's hand. Deciding to return the sentiment, she pulled her mask back off her head, leaving it hanging around the back of her neck. "Barbara Gordon."

Kate's eyes widened. "So- that was your father? Out there?"

Barbara started. "Wait, my Dad was here? What the hell was Robin thinking?"

"From what I understand, it was an accident. The new transporter tech picked him up by mistake."

Hesitating, she asked, "Is— is he still here?"

Kate shook her head. "No, Superman just took him to the Zeta-beams."

"Oh." Barbara fell back on the pillows, turning her head away from Kate. "So… why are you even here?"

"Well. That's, uh, an interesting story. Red Hood found me in Gotham about a week ago, with the rest of his team. They said they needed help with a cult I have some… experience with; the Religion of Crime. The cult had kidnapped someone that Red needed to question for an investigation. We had just finished up when Red Hood saw that you had been injured on the news; he went to the nearest Zeta-Tube and I went with him."

Barbara noticed how her face tightened slightly when she mentioned the cult, but chose not to comment on it. The pair fell into slightly awkward silence and Kate almost spoke up again when an elderly man walked into the room. It would have been perfectly normal except for the fact that the man who had to be on the far side of sixty was wearing a domino mask. The hilarity of the situation almost made her laugh.

"Miss Gordon, are you alright?"  
Tears sprang to her eyes and she squeezed them shut. She clenched her hands into fists and took in a shaking breath.

"I… I'll be fine. I'm not going to die, but… but I think I might be…"

Alfred looked worried and sat in the chair by her bed. He took one of her hands and gently unclenched it, then held it between his own. He didn't say anything, but his presence was soothing enough.

"I think I might be paralyzed, Agent A."

His face was ashen, but he simply squeezed her hand. "It will be alright."

Barbara nodded and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. "I'm just going to sleep for awhile."

Alfred nodded, and watched over her as she drifted off. When he was sure she was asleep, he turned to the other woman in the room. "Miss Kane. I do not believe we have had the pleasure. I am Agent A." He didn't offer any information on why he was there, or who he worked with, but she could guess well enough.

"I wish we could have met under better circumstances."

"It seems that this is the way of people like us; we can only gather under duress. Have you seen Masters Robin or Red Hood anywhere? I thought I saw their names on the Zeta-tube log when I came up."

Kate nodded. "Yes. I came up with Red Hood. They just went to grab—"

"Me." Dr. Leslie said as she rushed in, immediately going to check on the machines hooked up to Barbara. Jason and Damian came in after her, moving to stand with Kate on the far side of the room. Agent A stayed where he was, and Leslie moved around him.

All of the commotion had woken Barbara, and when she saw Dr. Leslie, she went for a smile that came out more as her pressing her lips together trying not to cry. Clearing her throat, she asked, "Well, Doc? Whats the verdict?"

Dr. Leslie didn't answer, electing to continue looking at charts and data. Everyone waited in silence as she finished. When she did, she came and stood by Agent A.

"Your injuries were quite severe. Robin did well in bringing you here so quickly, and calling me. Even if he had managed to get you here faster, your condition would be the same."

"So… so I'm really…"

"I'm so sorry, Barbara."

Barbara squeezed her eyes shut. She pulled her hand out of Agent A's and wrapped her arms around herself. The rest of the room was silent as tears slowly leaked out of the corners of her eyes and her breath became jagged. Surprisingly, it was Jason who came and laid a hand on her shoulder.

They all stood there in quiet solidarity and comfort as she broke down into heart-wrenching sobs, mourning the loss of her legs, and her life as Batgirl.


End file.
